Love is Blind
by Kit15
Summary: This is a TK-centric fic where he begins to realize things aren't as easy and perfect as they seem. There's a lot of relationship turmoil in here. Every character from 01 and 02 plays a big part. There will be some yaoi and het in here.
1. New Beginnings

            I thought I'd go for something different with this story.  I've never done a story from TK's POV, and since I love TK, I figured "Eh, what the hell, might as well try".  So, yeah, this is all new to me, so if it sucks, sorry.  Haha.  Anyway, don't be fooled by this first chapter, nothing is as it seems.  Oh yes, and though this starts out Sorato, I have a sadistic nature about me, and enjoy setting up a Sorato only so I can break it up.  LOL, yes, that couple won't last long because it sickens me to write it.  Also, even though Davis seems like, quite the buffoon in this first chapter, that won't last long either.  Remember, this is TK's point of view.  That'll change most likely in the next chapter, so don't write me off as a Davis-basher yet, cause I'm definitely not, I love the little fella, hehe.  ALSO, (god, I'm saying a lot, aren't I?) this may or may not end up Takari.  Though I love that pairing to death, I'm trying to do a more realistic, and not sickeningly, sugary-sweet, fairytale version of their lives.  So, be prepared for the worst. 

            Ok, now the part I hate the most.  *clears throat* Ahem…I don't own Digimon.  

            Alright, now that that tidbit is done, read, review and enjoy!

            OH WAIT!  There WILL be yaoi.  I won't say the couples, because that'll spoil everything, but there will be yaoi.  So, you are warned!  ^_^  Later days!

**Love is Blind**

            'Wow', I thought as I took a seat somewhere in the middle of the classroom.  'I am finally in high school.'  I started to take out a notebook that I had designated for Literature as I watched more students file into the classroom.  As I was taking out a pen, I heard a distinctive laugh coming from the doorway, soon joined by another.

            "Oh Davis," the angelic voice sighed.  I looked up to see Kari and Davis entering the room.  I hadn't realized I'd be so fortunate as to have Kari in the same class as me.  Well, I hadn't realized Davis would be either, but that's not as fortunate.  Smiling, I waved Kari over, indirectly waving Davis over too since they were together.  *Sigh* Everything always has to be bitter sweet, doesn't it.

            "Hey TA-"

            "TK."

            "-didn't know you'd be in this class," Davis said as he took the remaining empty seat next to me.  I glared silently at him and Kari took the one behind him.  

            "Hey, TK.  How's it going?" Kari chirped from behind.  

            I was all too happy to turn my attention away from the burgundy haired boy and face Kari.  "Good.  Just got here a few minutes ago.  How'd you run into Davis?" I asked.

            "Our lockers are near each other.  Plus we're in the same homeroom!" She piped, flashing Davis a grin.  I clenched my jaw as I saw Davis light up from the extra attention.  Of course they would be in the same homeroom; everything is done so methodically here.  The old trick of doing things alphabetically seemed to carry over even into high school, which means I'd most likely be placed far away from Kari in nearly everything.  

            "That's cool," I mumbled. 

            "Hey!  Ken!" Davis suddenly shouted.  

            I turned my gaze to the front of the classroom again and saw the tall, blue eyed boy start walking down the aisle towards us.  He picked the empty seat in front of the loud-mouthed soccer player and took the time to neatly arrange his books on the desk before turning to face us.

            "What are you doing here Ken?" Kari asked.

            "Well, I moved to this school district-"

            "We know that Ken!" Davis interrupted.  "How come you're in this class?  Shouldn't you be in some, junior level class or something?"

            Ken sighed and said, "At first it was just a mistake in the schedule so my parents and I tried to get it fixed."  He paused to brush back a strand of hair that had fallen in his eyes, "But then, I starting thinking that maybe being in regular classes, like a regular kid my age, wouldn't be so bad.  Plus, I might get to meet more people my age," he said softly.

            "Poor Ken, it must've been so hard for you.  Always feeling isolated like that," Kari said warmly.  Ken just shrugged.

            "Yeah man!  See, sometimes you just have to kick back, and enjoy the simple things in life," Davis announced.

            "Like…?" I questioned.

            "Like, being a normal kid!" He voiced.

            Ken pondered that for a moment, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

            "Yep!" Davis grinned, "If I allowed myself to be a genius all the time, I wouldn't be as laid-back as I am now."  He slouched in his desk, stretching his arms behind him to illustrate the point.

            Kari was the first one to start giggling at that, soon followed by myself.  "Davis, if you're a closet genius, then I'm Charlemagne," I quipped.

            I watched as Davis' eyes blinked comically and he said, "Who's Charlemagne?" That just resulted in sending us into more fits of laughter, Ken included this time.

            "Attention class," a voice said from the front and we all turned to see our first period teacher standing there with her attendance book in hand.  Everyone quieted down as she began to call roll.  

            "Amalla," she paused for the student to call 'here' or raise their hand before moving on.  "Aristo."  

            I was looking around the room, trying to put a face with a name each time our teacher called one when I heard Kari begin to whisper from behind.  I turned to see her leaning forward towards Davis' desk with a pencil in an outstretched arm, tapping Ken on the shoulder.  The dark haired boy turned around to see what was distracting him and Kari whispered, "You should smile more often Ken.  You look cute."  And with that, she slid back into her seat with a grin on her face.  Oddly enough, Davis and I caught each other's eye at that and we both must have been wearing the same expression, like we'd just been slapped in the face and rejected.  Ken just blushed and turned around though.  

            'What was that about?' I thought gloomily to myself as I faced forward again.  I blocked out the random "Here!"s as well as the teacher's voice as I tried to understand what just happened.  Why did Kari just flirt with Ken?  Or did she?  Maybe she was just being nice; after all, she says a lot of stuff like that.  Well, any time she said something like that to me, I always took it as flirting.  Does that mean she was flirting with Ken too?  Or that she's just being friendly to any of us when she says something like that?  I didn't know anymore.  I guess I always just assumed I was closer to Kari than anyone, which translated to 'I had a better chance with her than anyone'.  Suddenly, I wasn't so sure of myself.

            "Takaishi Takeru!" The teacher bellowed unexpectedly.  

            "Here!" I yelled, jerking myself out of my thoughts as I put my hand up for emphasis.  She just gave me a look and I figured I must have missed my name being called a good two or three times before that.  I slowly put my arm down on my desk and resolved not to daydream for the rest of the class.  That lasted all of about five minutes because as soon as she was done calling roll she went into a whole spiel about what she expected from us this year.  One word: Boring.  

            I somehow made it to the end of that class and filed out of the classroom with the rest of the students once the bell rang.  I found Kari, Davis and Ken and the four of us starting comparing schedules.  Turns out I had Biology with Davis next while Kari and Ken went to two separate classes.  I silently thanked whoever made the schedules that Kari and Ken weren't together.  Davis and I walked away from them and towards the Science wing, him chatting endlessly about how excited he was to finally be in high school.  I only half listened, I was still mulling over the fact that Kari seemed to be changing and growing away from me.  It left me feeling as if I wasn't good enough for her anymore and that frightened me.  

            As I continued to think to myself, I failed to notice the snickers of someone as they crept of behind me.  Without any warning, there was suddenly a strong arm wrapped around my neck while the other hand was curled into a fist and twisting in my hair.  "What the hell!"  I shouted as I squirmed free of the grip.  I turned around to see two very familiar people laughing it up.  "MATT!" I cried as I pushed him playfully.  

            "Oh TK!" He said between laughs, "You should've seen your face!"  Him and his ever-present-partner-in-crime, Tai, continued to laugh.  I just ground my teeth together as I glared at the duo.  Off to my left I noticed Davis laughing as well, but I ignored that.  After a minute or so they finally stopped and noticed my fixated glare.  "Aw c'mon Squirt, it was all in good fun," Matt protested.

            "Matt, I'm 14 years old now, do you think you could call me TK!" I snapped.  

            Matt's eyes widened a bit before he said, "Sure thing, TK."  He turned his blue eyes towards where Tai had gone to talk with Davis.  "I gotta get to class, and so do you.  See you after school," Matt muttered.  Tapping his brown haired friend as he walked past, he pointed down the hallway to where I supposed their next class was.  

            "See you at soccer practice!  And make sure Ken comes too!" Tai called as he waved goodbye from Matt's side.  

            I walked briskly away, trying to get to class on time and subconsciously trying to get away from everyone and everything.  I was just in a rather sour mood today.  "See ya Tai!" Davis called from behind.  I heard him pause, then shout, "Hey TP!  Wait up!"  There was the sound of hurried footsteps behind me, and then Davis was back at my side, walking with me towards our next class.  "So, what's got you in such a hurry?" He asked.

            "Shut up Davis," I growled.  

            He faltered in his step before catching up with me again and grumbling, "What bug crawled up your ass?"  Luckily, we had arrived at class otherwise I might've retorted back at him.  We took our seats and I prepared myself for another boring, first day of classes lecture.  

            After Biology, it was Algebra, and I was alone for this class.  Whatever sadistic person had decided to give me Biology and Algebra in consecutive blocks must've done it just to make my life miserable.  So, that class hadn't gone much better than Biology, actually, I could go as far as to say it was even worse.  But, there was a glimmer of hope, because after Algebra I had lunch.  When that class finally came to a close I practically leapt from my seat and out the door.  I was walking to my locker as I started thinking about Kari and her weird behavior lately.  Slowing my steps a little, I suddenly wasn't so eager to see everyone at lunch.  I don't know how much more of Kari's playful/flirting personality I could hand right now.  But, knowing that I couldn't very well skip lunch with them (since that would bring about a whole other ordeal) I resigned myself to my fate.  

            I threw my books in my locker and shoved the books I'd need for my afternoon set of classes in my backpack.  Once I was prepared for my afternoon classes, I grabbed my lunch from the top shelf and looked around the hall to see if anyone I knew was nearby.  Not seeing anyone immediately, I sighed and close my locker, then headed off to the cafeteria.  I only managed to get a few feet away from my locker when I heard a girl's voice call out for me.

            "Hey TK!  Over here!" Recognizing it as Kari's, I turned around to see her, Davis, Ken and Yolie waving me down.  I changed direction and walked towards where the other chosen children were waiting for me.  

            "What took you so long TA?" Davis taunted.

            "You already used that today, Davis," I remarked.  He looked confused for a second, then realized I meant the nickname.  He pouted, but kept quiet.  "And I came from the Math wing," I explained.

            "Oh!  Who's your teacher?" Yolie asked as we began walking to the cafeteria.  

            I paused to look at my schedule, and then said, "Malaris?"

            "Oh!  I had him last year!  He's so easy!" Yolie exclaimed.

            I frowned a bit and said, "Yeah, maybe for a math wiz like you."  She just flashed me a cheesy grin.  I rolled my eyes as we walked through the double doors to the cafeteria.  I glanced around the room, seeing it almost filled to capacity already.  

            "Wow it's crowded in here!" Davis cried.  I had no choice but to agree with him on this.  We started to move through the mass of students, trying to find a place to sit.

            "How 'bout here!" Kari said, drawing our attention to a table a few rows down from where most of us were standing and cramped against the wall.  

            "It'll have to do," I sighed and the rest of us joined Kari at the table.  Just as soon as we had started to get settled, Davis and Ken walked away to wait on the long lunch line.  

            "Whew, I'm glad I don't have to wait on that!" Yolie exclaimed as I began unpacking my lunch.  I looked down at the meager lunch I had hastily put together this morning: crackers, grapes and a bottle of water.  If only my mom wasn't so wrapped up in her work all the time, then maybe I'd get a decent lunch once and a while.  I took a bite out of a cracker, but before I had even managed to swallow it all, I felt a hard slap on my back.  Choking down the bits of cracker, I turned around to see Tai standing there.  

            "How many times do you guys plan on surprising me today?!" I shouted, anger seeping through my voice. 

            "Eesh, sorry," Tai said, holding up his hands in surrender as Matt and Sora stepped up beside him.

            "Hey big brother," Kari interjected, "what are you doing in the early lunch?  I though seniors usually took the later lunches."

            "Well, we get to make our own schedules-"

            "And seeing as Tai is hungry all day long, the sooner he gets fed, the better," Matt finished.

            Tai mock-glared at his best friend as I stepped in to ask a question, "Well, we know why Tai's here.  What about you two?"

            "I couldn't very well let Tai eat lunch alone," Matt explained.  "And Sora-"

            "Can't be pried from Matt's side," Tai grumbled, looking over at Matt's girlfriend of three years.  

            "Hey Tai!" Sora weakly protested.  Matt just shrugged and ignored the comment.  "Aren't you going to say something to that?" Sora whined to Matt.

            Sighing, my brother responded, "Sorry…I'm not really up for a sparring match today.  I'm gonna go get some food."  With that he left, Sora in tow.  

            I turned my attention back to Tai and saw him glaring murderously at the Takenouchi girl.  "Um, Tai?" I inquired, waving my hand in front of his face.

            "WHAT?!" He barked, then looked apologetic as his gaze met mine.  "Sorry TK, that wasn't meant for you."  I just nodded.

            "Tai…" Kari trailed off.  

            "I'll see you later," he mumbled as he left to go stand on the end of the lunch line.  

            Silence ensued after Matt, Sora and Tai's dramatic exit.  It was finally broken by Yolie when she said, "Wow, what just happened?"

            I looked at the two girls to see Kari with a slightly guilty look on her face and Yolie looking positively baffled.  I must have been a mix between the two, since I knew problems had arisen ever since Matt and Sora started dating three years ago.  It had been getting worse recently, and I wasn't sure why.  I never knew what the initial cause of all the fighting was.  Though, judging from Kari's expression, she seemed to know more than she was letting on.  "Kari?" I tried.  "Do you know why they're always arguing nowadays?" 

            "Um…" she whispered, her eyes darting to the side and lighting up when she obviously spotted someone she knew.  "Oh look!  Davis and Ken are back."

            I held back the growl I felt creeping up in my throat as I turned to see Ken and Davis returning to the table with lunch trays in hand.  Kari was definitely hiding something.  She knew something that I didn't know about my brother and I didn't really like the sound of that.  I'd have to get her alone to talk to her sometime.  

            Once Davis and Ken rejoined us at the table normal conversation resumed.  People talked about their first day and what their impressions of their teachers were.  I tuned them out mostly.  There were too many thoughts running around in my head that day.  From Kari to my brother and Tai.  Something strange was going on, and I wanted know what it was.  Throughout my internal monologue, I had been steadily searching the cafeteria, looking for Matt and the others, trying to spot where they were sitting.  Unfortunately, there were too many people in the lunchroom to see any further than the table next to you.  Frowning, I decided to give Matt a ring about it tonight, maybe he'd be able to tell me what's going on between him, Tai and Sora as of late.  

            I tried to focus back on the conversation at hand, but it had moved on to a more, shall we say, exclusive topic?  Yolie was chattering on about some guy that she met in her class who she considered to be 'fine'.  Apparently, Yolie had picked that up from Mimi, saying it was what all of the Americans used to describe a really sexy, good looking guy or girl.  But I thought 'fine' was a weird word to describe a guy…or even a girl for that matter.  Like, is that supposed to be a compliment?  'Oh, you're fine.'  I mean, really.  That doesn't sound so impressive to me.  Sounds like you're telling someone they're 'OK', or 'satisfactory'.  Doesn't sound like that great of a compliment to me.  

            "What's his name Yolie?" Kari asked.  I did all I could to prevent whipping my head in the direction of Kari's voice so I didn't seem so surprised that she said that.  What, was she interested in someone else now?

            "Chris, I think," she said with a distant look in her eyes.  "He's so dreamy."  'Dreamy'?  Where does she get this stuff?  I had also noticed by now that Davis and Ken had tuned out Yolie's incessant boy ramblings and had started talking about soccer strategies.  

            "Oh Yolie, you think everyone is dreamy," Kari giggled.  

            Yolie childishly stuck her tongue out at Kari, and then said, "You know who else is positively gorgeous?"  

            Kari laughed again before saying, "No, who?"

            I could have sworn I saw Yolie's eyes flicker over to me before she leaned across the table and whispered in Kari's ear.  Kari's eyes widened before she broke out into a fit of giggles.  "I know!" She shouted, a little louder than she expected to obviously because Davis and Ken turned to look at her too.

            "He's soooo cute!" Yolie bubbled, clasping her hands in front of her as her eyes glazed over again.

            "It's the blue eyes, isn't it?" Kari asked, trying to keep her voice down.

            "Yes!  And that hair!" Yolie exclaimed, once again drawing attention to the two girls.  Both quieted down for a second, before the doubled over in laughter.

            Not being able to take it any longer, I politely asked, "What are you two going on about?"

            Yolie and Kari looked at me, and then went into another round of giggles.  "Oh TK!" Kari cried.

            "Nothing you should be concerned with!" Yolie shouted between chuckles.  A brooding look fell over my face again.  So, it appears Kari is obsessed with ANOTHER guy.  Another one that is apparently NOT me.  Though I do have blue eyes…

            "I have blue eyes," I mumbled under my breath.  Unfortunately, Davis caught wind of what I said and he started laughing.

            "Keep dreaming TS!  Kari's my girl!" Davis proclaimed.  

            I rolled my eyes and retorted, "Yeah, whatever you say, Davis."  Though my remark was sarcastic, I couldn't stop the images that flooded my mind.  Kari with Davis, Kari with Ken, Kari with anyone but me.  Sighing audibly, I picked up my lunch bag and got up from the table, throwing away my garbage.  I had hardly touched my lunch, but for some reason, I had lost my appetite today.  I trudged out of the cafeteria by myself and wallowing in self pity.  I must have been rather pathetic to look at.  But at that moment, I just couldn't bring myself to care.  So what if the ever-smiling-ever-optimistic-TK was feeling down?  I have feelings too.  I can get upset.  

            I came to my locker and practically wrenched the door off its hinges, snatched my backpack and started walking towards my next class.  I had History next, a subject that I naturally excelled at, so maybe that would brighten my mood some.  I severely doubted it.  

            I arrived at my history class a good ten minutes before the bell since I had stormed out of the cafeteria early.  Setting my backpack down under my desk, I laid my head down on my arms and decided to sulk for a few minutes.  All I could think about was Kari, and the fact that I seemed to be losing her.  'Losing her?' I thought to myself, 'When did I ever have her?'  It seems that somewhere along the way, my mind had subconsciously decided that Kari was inevitably going to be the girl I grew old with.  I could see it now.  We were supposed to have a story book kind of love.  You know, where you meet and marry the girl next door, your childhood best friend.  Everything is all sunshine in the middle of suburbia, a large house with a white picket fence, a green lawn, two kids (one boy and one girl, obviously) and a big, cuddly dog.  I imagined my fantasy floating before my eyes in a bubble, but when I reached out to touch it, it just popped.

            Sighing, I slumped forward in my desk even further.  Kari was never my girl, and if I didn't figure out a way to win her heart, she never would be.  Even though I now know I never had some kind of magical connection with Kari, where we both just knew that we would end up living happily ever after, I can't help but feel betrayed.  Ever since our first explorations in the Digiworld, it seems that everyone had automatically assumed we'd be perfect for each other…and we were only eight years old then!  Eight years old and everyone around us seemed to be pointing and saying "Aww, how cute!  They're going to get married some day!"  Hell, even Matt would joke around with me years later, saying how he was just waiting for the day we stopped pretending we weren't together and just come out with it.  It was as if our destiny as husband and wife had been planned for us since day one.  The sad thing is…I believed it.

            I clenched my jaw in anger at my own stupidity.  I was such a fool, falling for that lame, sappy, fairytale life that I envisioned with Kari.  Just being TK, Kari's optimistic best friend, wasn't enough.  I needed to show her how I truly felt.  Then I could finally have Kari as my girlfriend.  Though I'd need some help as to how to win Kari.  Seeing as just being myself was getting me nowhere.  I guess I just had the classic situation of guy-loves-girl-but-girl-only-sees-guy-as-best-friend to deal with.  Maybe Matt could help me out; he does have a three year relationship with Sora as experience.  

            "Hey TK," a soft voice said from above.  I looked up and couldn't help but think 'speak of the devil'.

            "Hey Kari," I said, and then realized for the first time that most of the class had filled up by now.  

            She sat down next to me, took her time arranging her notebook and what not on her desk before she turned to look at me again.  I saw concern flashing in her eyes when she asked, "Why did you leave so suddenly?"  I gave her a noncommittal shrug.  I couldn't possibly tell her I was getting jealous every time she mentioned another guy's name, could I?  Kari's expression soured to a frown and she said, "What's wrong TK?  You're…not yourself today."

            Thankfully, the teacher started calling roll at that point so I turned my attention to the front of the classroom and pointedly ignored Kari the rest of the class.  I know, not exactly the best move on my part, especially if I wanted to be getting on her good side so that she'd like me back, but hey, I'm a guy, so I'm entitled to be stupid and pig-headed every once in a while.  At least, that what I always hear my mom say.  

            History came to a close and I picked up my gear and exited the classroom.  I had Gym next, so that would be something to look forward to.  Unlike my brother Matt, I enjoyed Gym since I played a sport during the year.  I was definitely more talented in the sports area than Matt, where as he excelled in the arts.  Something I was secretly jealous of since I couldn't even attempt to write a song or sing nearly as well as he could.  Have I mentioned Matt's in a rather popular band?  They're called The Teenage Wolves and are starting to make a real splash on the airwaves.  They've been around since Matt's sophomore year in high school, so while they are still young, they have talent.  There're mostly played on local stations though, such as college radios stations and the one stationed right here in Odaiba.  Other than that, they haven't moved out of the area too much, but I believe Matt's going to try to travel a bit with the band once he's out of high school.

            Well, I certainly went off on a tangent up there, didn't I?  No matter, I was by myself in the hall, walking to the gym.  I guess Kari knows me better than I thought she did since she seemed to pick up on the fact that I needed some time alone.   Maybe she's not as distant from me as I thought.  

            "Yo!  TJ!" A boy, obviously Davis, suddenly called out from my left.  

            I halted my steps and turned to see Davis and Ken standing there, just walking away from Ken's locker.  "Hey guys," I said monotonously.

            "Where are ya going?" Davis asked as he tried to peek at my schedule.

            "Gym," I answered.

            "Cool, us too," he commented and the three of us started walking towards the gym.  

            We must have been walking extra slow or something, because by the time we arrived everyone was already in the gym, sitting in the bleachers and a teacher was standing in front of everyone.  The three of us looked at each other with nervous expressions as we entered the gymnasium.  

            "Oh, good of you to join us boys," the teacher said.  Figures he'd be one of those teachers that love to humiliate students.  Davis, Ken and I all wore identical looks of embarrassment on our faces as we crept to an open area in the bleachers.  "And please, take your time getting to your seats, we do have all day."  More snickers from the already present students could be heard.  In front of me, I saw Davis' face get redder and he was turning to face the teacher but Ken nudged him with his elbow and we quickly sat down.  I was pretty sure that if Davis had opened his mouth, nothing but a nasty remark would have come out.

            The class finally quieted down and the teacher resumed his first day of classes lecture once we were seated.  He did the usual speech, starting off with intolerance to tardiness.  Figures.  Talked about how we would be graded on effort, preparation and attendance, all that good stuff.  He went on for a good half an hour.  I didn't know a gym teacher could possibly have that much to talk about, or have a syllabus to hand out.  I grimly looked down at the packet he had just handed out and realized with a start that there were homework assignments on here.  HOMEWORK assignments for a gym class!  Yeah, remember that deal about me saying Gym might be the only class I could look forward to?  Well, scratch that.  At least I wasn't the only one displeased with the new information, the groans and sighs from the other boys signaled that they didn't like it either.  Oh yeah, have I mentioned that this high school seems to be stuck in the old fashioned ways of having separate gym classes for girls and boys?  Adds to the fun, doesn't it?

            At the end of the lecture we were given our locker assignments and told to make sure they opened properly, so all the boys walked into the locker room and started looking for their lockers.  Luckily, mine opened without any difficulties, so I returned to the gym rather quickly.  Davis and Ken soon rejoined me and we took our seat on the bleachers again.

            "Man!  I can't believe we're going to be having homework in gym!" Davis whined.

            "Yeah, I know," I sighed as I rested my chin in my hand.  

            "Seems unnecessarily cruel," Ken commented quietly.  Davis and I just nodded our accord.  

            "Alright boys!" The gym teacher called out, "Tomorrow will begin our first official day of gym.  Make sure you bring a change of clothes.  You wouldn't want to start off on the wrong foot," he warned as he directed his vision to the three of us.  I heard Davis growl beside me, but I just kept an uninterested look on my face.  "Well, that's all I have to say for today, wait 'til the bell rings before you go."

            Davis, Ken and I just sat, festering in mutual silence and disgruntlement until the bell rang.  When it did, I bid them a quick farewell and walked toward my next and last class of the day.  Today I had Art in the last block of the day, whereas tomorrow Gym would be there and I'd have a different class for period one.  See, there's rotating schedules in the high school, which makes things a little more interesting, plus you don't have every class every day, though it's nearly impossible to memorize your schedule.  Well, at least that's what Matt tells me.  

            I walk through the halls towards the art class with a slightly confused look on my face.  The other classes were easy to find since they all had respective wings to their department.  There wasn't exactly an art wing in the high school.  So, I was keeping an eye on the numbers of the doors as I passed them, hoping that I was going in the right direction.  I came to an intersection of hallways and came to a standstill, confused as to where I should turn next.  Looking to my right, I saw a kid with red hair bent over a water fountain, so I lightly tapped him on the shoulder.  The boy came up sputtering with a look of total surprise on his face.

            "What the-!  TK!"  A familiar face shouted.  

            "Hey Izzy," I said calmly.  Then I scratched the top of my head before saying, "Um, where is the Art room?"

            "Oh, down that way," he motioned, pointing behind me.  

            I nodded to him, saying "Thanks."  

            "No problem.  Oh, but next time, do you think you could not sneak up on me like that?  Now I have water all down the front of my uniform!"  He told me, gesturing to his white shirt.  I looked down and had to laugh.  I had indeed made him splash water all over the front of his uniform.

            "Deal, Izzy," I told him between laughs.  "Well, see ya!"

            "Bye!" The red head called as I turned around and went down the new hallway.  

            Art class was pretty uneventful.  The teacher seemed cool though.  He looked like he just walked out of the 60's, all long hair, tie dye headband and even brown tinted sunglasses on.  Quite a sight, but cool nonetheless.  At least I know this will be one class that I'll be able to relax in…unlike that Hellish Gym.  

            I picked up my backpack and strolled through the halls back to my locker down in the Science wing, where all freshman lockers were.  When I got there, I saw Kari, Davis and Ken already at their lockers further down the hall.  Since I only had some reading in Literature to do for tomorrow, I threw my Literature book in my nearly empty backpack and closed my locker.  I had the full intention of turning and leaving Davis, Ken and Kari where they were and going to meet my brother for a ride home without them, but they were too quick and had managed to get to my locker by the time I turned around.  

            "Ready TK?" Kari asked, blinking her beautiful eyes at me.

            "Yeah," I said, slightly unenthusiastically.  Kari kept up her smile though, even if it did falter slightly.  As usual, Davis and Ken were pretty oblivious to the change in attitude.

            "Man!  I still can't get over the fact that we're going to have homework in Gym!" Davis wailed.

            "It is rather ridiculous," Ken said quietly.

            "You guys have a teacher that assigns homework for Gym?" Kari asked.

            "Yeah-" 

            "Yeah!  It sucks!" Davis shouted as he interrupted me.  I glared at him, but it went unnoticed.  "And I thought Gym would be the one class I'd be able to pass!"  

            We all laughed at that as Ken held open the door for us to leave through.  "Thanks," Kari chirped as she flashed him a grin.  Ken silently nodded at her, and then politely waited for me to walk though.  My expression had turned downwards again.  Once we were outside, we all started to look around, each trying to find our rides home.  

            "Well, I have to catch the bus.  See you tomorrow," Ken murmured as he walked away from us.  

            "Bye!" Davis yelled as the young genius took his leave.  

            "Oh look!  There are Tai and Matt," Kari said as she pointed towards a patch of trees.  

            "Mmm hmm," I hummed as she grabbed my hand and lead me towards our older siblings.  With her holding my hand, I was allowed a fleeting moment of bliss and of cockiness as I turned to Davis and smirked at him.  Davis just stood there, flabbergasted with his mouth open.  He composed himself though and started running after us. 

            "Hey, I think I see my sister there too!  Wanna hold my hand now Kari?"  Davis pleaded as he caught up to us.  

            "Oh please, Davis," she said as she let go of my hand and continued walking in front of us.  

            This time, when I glared at Davis, he noticed it.  Davis looked sullen for a moment, then turned to me and said, "You take what you can get!" Then he sprinted ahead of Kari and met up with Matt, Tai and his sister, June.  I was left to sneer at his back.

            Soon enough, Kari and I reached our brothers.  Unfortunately, I could see the moment I got there that I'd want to get away from there as soon as possible.  You see, Davis' sister, June, has a thing for cute guys.  For some reason, she has decided that I'm cute.  The only thing that makes this tolerable is the fact that it pisses Davis off immensely.  He can't stand the fact that his sister thinks I'm cute, and tries every joke and trick in the book to prove her otherwise.  Inevitably, he ends up looking like the fool because Kari will come to my rescue.  It happens all the time.  

            "Oh TK!  How are you today!?" June positively squealed when I came over.  I swear, she's even more boy crazy than Yolie is.  

            "Fine," I said.  

            "TK, good, you're here.  Time to go," Matt announced as he tried to grab my hand to drag me away from there.  

            "Oh Matt!  What's the hurry!?  TK just got here!  Lemme talk to you for a bit," June argued as she took hold of my other hand.  

            "No, really, we must be going now," Matt shot back, desperation leaking through his voice.  

            "Yeah, let TK go.  It gives me more alone time with Kari," Davis remarked as he grinned foolishly at Kari. 

            "Whatever you say Davis," Kari said, her voice laced with sarcasm.

            "Come now TK, how was your first day in high school?" June questioned.

            "Um, ok I guess," I mumbled.

            "TK, we have to leave NOW!" Matt growled, sounding more and more desperate by the minute.  I stole a glance at Tai to see him looking rather hopeless.  His eyes were darting between Matt and June and he just looked as if he had no clue what to do about the situation.

            "Let 'em go June.  TS isn't worth your time," Davis said.

            "His name is TK.  T-K, Davis," Kari punctuated.  

            "Yeah," I chimed in.  I must've had a glowing smile on my face.  Davis just scrunched his face up in annoyance.

            "Ugh!  Let them go June!  Who needs TP anyway?!" Davis shouted as he grabbed hold of his sister's arm and tried to pry her off me.  Her grip was starting to loosen on me from Davis' incessant prying and heard her arguing with Davis to stop it.  Suddenly, Matt lurched in the opposite direction, freeing me of June's grip and I went flying into Matt, nearly flattening the two of us to the ground.  "Thanks Davis!" Matt called over his shoulder as he dragged me away from the scene.  I could hear June's wails of agony over losing us as we ran across the lawn to Matt's car in the parking lot.  

            We reached the parking lot and Matt finally let go of me.  He started to walk at a more relaxed pace to his blue civic, it was the same color as his crest, as he fetched his keys from his school jacket's pocket.  Once we were safely inside the car, he let out a long sigh of relief.  

            "Man…that girl never gives up…" Matt moaned into the steering wheel.

            "Yeah.  How'd she catch you today?" I asked.  All I got was a shrug.  Figures.  Matt was never one for words.  We sat in silence as he started up the car and drove out of the parking lot.  We were still on the road in front of the school when we saw Kari and Tai walking home.  They like to walk home on nice days, and since it's still basically summer, and the weather was pleasant, they were walking. 

            I must've sighed or something when we waved to them from the car or something, because suddenly Matt said, "Kari, huh?"

            I whipped my head around and looked at him with surprise registered on my face before bowing my head and saying, "Yeah…Kari."

            I saw a small smirk appear at the corner of his mouth and he whispered, "I know how you feel."  

            That seemed like a rather odd thing to say, since he was going out with Sora and all, so it wasn't like he was longing after anyone.  Perhaps he was just saying he knew what I was going through, since he once went through it too?  I decided to ask him about it.  "What do you mean?"

            Matt's eyebrows furrowed and he countered, "What do you mean, what do I mean?"

            I laughed a little at that, then said, "Well, who do you have to be longing after?"

            His grip on the steering wheel stiffened a bit, and I gave him an even more curious look.  Blue eyes gave me a side glance before refocusing on the road in front of them.  Matt opened his mouth to say something, then seemed to mentally shake it off and chose to say, "Forget I said anything."

            Now that was odd.  I thought he'd just play it off as, 'well, I used to be in your position too,' or something to that extent.  Instead, he acted like I'd caught him in some terrible lie.  Well, it looked like some little brother nagging would be needed here.  "Come on Matt, you can't get away from me that easily.  What's on your mind?"  I poked him in the side for good measure.

            Matt flinched away from me and gave me a pathetic glance out of the corner of his eye.  He sighed once and said, "It's really none of your concern."

            Hmm…I'm gonna have to turn it up I think.  "Maaaaatt.  Come on, we never keep secrets from each other."

            "Now we do," he blurted out so suddenly that it startled me into silence.  Had he just said that?  I looked at his face and saw his jaw set into fierce determination.  Whatever it was, he didn't want to talk about it.  Well, fine, I seemed to be missing out on a lot of things these days, might as well add my brother to the list.  

            We sat in silence the rest of the way to my apartment complex, me scowling and my brother glaring at the road.  He pulled into a spot out front and I was out of the car before he was even fully stopped.  Just as I was about to close the door though, he threw himself across the passenger seat and stretched an arm out to stop the door.  I looked down at him and knew he was probably beating himself up over what he said to me earlier.  Though he may have looked perfectly composed to the rest of the world, if you knew him well enough, you'd know what to look for.  Like the fact that he was sucking in his bottom lip slightly, meaning that he was probably biting down on it as a punishment for being so harsh.  Or the fact that his eyes looked slightly unfocused on me.  He's one of those people who likes to look you in the eyes when you're talking.  He feels that it's easier to judge if a person is being truthful; also, it shows that he's paying attention.  When his eyes acquire that slightly distant look, like he's looking through you, you know he's worried about something.

            "TK-"

            "I know, Matt," I said.  

            A small smile appeared on his face and he glanced to the side for a second, before looking back up at me and saying, "Why don't we talk about this tomorrow?"

            I nodded at him.  "Sure thing Matt.  See you tomorrow morning."

            "See you," he replied as he slid back into the driver's seat and I closed the passenger side door.  As always, he waited for me to be completely inside the building before he drove away.  That's Matt, protective until the last possible moment. 

(A/N: Ok!  And the first chapter is done and posted!  I'm probably working on writing the second as we speak.  I'm assuming this is going to be a long one folks, so stay with me if you can/dare.  Haha.  Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this a bit.  Later days!)


	2. Changing the Rules

            Yay!  I'm back, but this time I'm writing from inside the walls of FDU (Fairleigh Dickinson University for those of you NOT from NJ).  Ahhh…college life, gotta love it.  Haha, anyway.  Here's the second part to "Love is Blind"…and yes, I've decided to keep that title…oh well.  This is significantly shorter than the last chapter.  I suppose you could look at it more like an interlude, where we delve into TK's mind and his past with Kari a little more.  Nothing too big here, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.  Well, I don't own Digimon.  Read, review and enjoy!  

**Love is Blind**

            I closed my Literature book after an hour of reading the 'short story' that our teacher had assigned.  The said short story was thirty pages long!  And these textbooks don't exactly have small pages with big print on them!  So, needless to say, I was just taking a break.  I walked out of my room and glanced in the computer room to see my mom hard at work on the column that she's been writing this entire week.  I'm not even sure what it's about.  She's always too busy to talk about it anyway.  

            Continuing into the kitchen I poured myself a glass of milk and leaned against the counter as I sipped it.  Now that my mind was temporarily off of the story I had been reading for class, it immediately began to drift to Kari again.  I couldn't comprehend what was happening to the two of us.  We seemed to be growing apart, not drastically, but I could sense it.  Kari wasn't always concentrating on me anymore.  It's as if she was completely content with the idea of us being best friends, and because of that, thought it was acceptable if she acted interested in other guys.  Almost as if she were taking our friendship for granted.  I mean, technically she's not doing anything wrong, since we're not going out or whatever, but it still hurts.  I want to be the one she focuses on most often in a group.  I want to receive the secret smiles and laughs that I had assumed were specially reserved for me.  Suddenly, all of that didn't seem so special anymore.  Now it only appeared to be a smile shared between friends and a laugh that was no different from the other laughs she gave everyone else.  Whatever magical luster that I had imagined our friendship was encased in before, seemed to disappear.  

            Maybe I was being too harsh on her though.  We both just entered high school and would be meeting a lot of new people.  Maybe she was just trying to make a good impression all around and didn't want to appear so wrapped up in one person.  She was never one to close people off or distance herself from anyone, so maybe she felt she needed to make other people feel special and appreciated around her too.  After all, the two of us go way back.  We were part of the first Digidestined.  We were the youngest in the first group of people that saved two worlds.  Heck, both of our Digimon have angelic digivolutions that allow them to work together.  

            I frowned at that though.  Those were only labels.  Digidestined, youngest heroes, angel digimon…who really cares about all that?  It doesn't define our relationship.  You can't base a friendship or relationship on labels and icons.  It was just silly.  Where was the real connection, the real passion?  Surely, I couldn't try to sum it up in mere material things?

            Annoyed at my weak attempt to try to prove to myself that Kari and I were special, I slammed down my glass of milk on the counter behind me.  At least, I though I slammed down my glass of milk on the counter.  That was until I heard a loud crash and suddenly felt my left pant leg showered in liquid.  

            "TK!  Is everything alright?!" My mother called from the computer room.

            I impassively looked down at the spill and said, "Yeah…just dropped a glass."

            "Oh TK!  Are you hurt?" She yelled as she ran to the doorway to look at the damage.  

            I shook my head at her, saying, "Don't worry about it, I'll clean it up.  Sorry about the glass."  

            I walked to the hall closet to get the broom, dust pan and the mop.  I hear my mother softly say "Alright," before she retreated back into the computer room.  I brought the cleaning supplies back into the kitchen, carefully avoiding the shards of glass and bent over to sweep the shattered glass into the dustpan.  As I bent over to start cleaning, I felt my necklace slip out from underneath my collar.  Dazedly, I watched as it swung in front of me, the gold plate catching the light from above.  Slowly, I placed the broom and dustpan on the floor and stood up.  I took the pendant in my hand and held it up in front of me, studying the exquisite design on the front.  This pendant…how could I forget?  Surely, this shows how important I am to Kari.  

            You see, Kari gave this to me exactly one year to the day after we all defeated Malomyotismon.  She said it was like our anniversary because we had all worked so hard to save two worlds.  She threw a party, inviting all of the digidestined, but asked if I could arrive early.  When I got there, she gave me this necklace.  It's a 14kt gold dog-tag like pendant, but on the front it has the symbol of the Crest of Hope, and on the back, Chosen Child Takeru Takaishi is engraved on it.  The pendant hangs from a gold chain.  It's really something, and I was totally surprised when she gave it to me.  I was even more surprised when she held up her own version of my necklace.  Hers was rose gold, with the symbol of the Crest of Light engraved on the front and Chosen Child Hikari Kamiya on the back.  I remember the smile on her face when she said, "You're my best friend, and now we have something to show for it."  

            I thought back warmly on that day.  I had been so happy when she gave that to me, picking me out of everyone else, even Yolie who was her DNA digivolution partner.  It was then that I started to really think about how close I was with Kari, and how much closer I wanted to get.  During the wars in the Digiworld, none of us really had time to think about relationships, well, not seriously anyway.  Saving two worlds does kind of become your only focus, even when you are going through adolescence and all the fun side effects that go with it.  So, even though I may have known I felt somewhat differently towards Kari, I wasn't even given the time to worry about developing my feelings for her.  Now that all of that is finally done and over with, Kari is all I seem to think about.        

            I was smiling, lost in my thoughts when my mom suddenly yelled "TK!"  I jerked backwards into the counter and let my necklace fall back against my chest.  "What are you doing?!"

            I looked at her with a confused expression for a moment, then glimpsed at the floor, remembering I had a spill to clean up.  I looked up sheepishly at my mother and started to speak, "Sorry, I kind of-"

            "I don't want to hear it TK!  Go finish your homework!  I'll clean it up," she yelled, sighing as she walked past me to retrieve the broom and dustpan from the floor, which were now dripping with milk too.  I quietly left the kitchen, knowing not to push it when my mom was upset.  

            I got to my room and flopped down on my bed.  I snatched the Literature book off of my floor and placed it in front of me and resumed reading the infinitely boring story.  Steeling myself for a long read, I grabbed my portable CD player from under my bed, and put on the headphones.  Immediately I began to relax as I heard the soothing tenor voice of my brother coming through the headphones.  Listening to his band's latest CD always calms me and puts me in a good mood.  So, feeling slightly better about the whole Kari thing and listening to my favorite CD, I started reading.  

            I few hours later I had finally managed to make it through all of the reading.  I checked my clock and realized it was nearly 11 already.  Well, I suppose it was my fault for starting my homework so late anyway.  Sighing, I closed my book and tossed it back into my backpack for school tomorrow.  I hopped down off my bed and got ready to go to sleep.  I stepped out into the hall and walked over to the bathroom, looking in the computer room as I went.  My mom was still up, working on that column, so I just stepped inside for a moment and told her I was going to bed.  She bade me a quick goodnight, hardly glancing in my direction, then refocused on her paper.  Frowning, I turned and left to go get ready in the bathroom.

            When I was finished showering and what not I returned to my room and lay down under the covers of my bed.  Tomorrow morning I would talk to Matt about what's going on with him, Tai and Sora.  Tomorrow I would start anew with Kari, showing her just how great I could be.  Tomorrow would either be the start of the best year of my life, or the worst year to come.

(A/N – See?  I told you it was much shorter than the last chapter.  But do not fear faithful readers, I'm already hard at work on the next chapter for it will be a very important one!  Later days!)


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